Blitz the Gap is a Canada-wide bioblitz to help us fill gaps in our knowledge of biodiversity in Canada. Canada is a large country and hosts tons of amazing biodiversity - which makes it a challenging place to survey. Though we’ve made progress thanks to community science platforms like iNaturalist, we are still lacking data for a whole host of ecological and conservation applications.
To assess at-risk species, track the changes in species’ ranges due to climate change, rapidly detect species losses and invasions, we just need more data - and we need your help!
Challenges
To Blitz the Gap, choose from a series of challenges to fill biodiversity data gaps in Canada, according to what inspires you the most.
These challenges were designed by graduate students throughout Canada to help guide iNaturalists like you towards places that deserve a little more attention. Remember: even one observation can be enough to make a difference in our understanding of biodiversity change!
| Challenge | Priority Theme(s) | Description | iNaturalist | Maps & species lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hey birders, don’t look up! | Species | Birders are the ultimate nature observers. This challenge aims to get birders to observe anything else (other than a bird) while they are out birding. |  |
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| Make a splash! | Places, Species | Dive in, and help us blitz the gap in freshwater biodiversity data! | |
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| Trailblazers | Places | Hey hikers, we need your help to document Canadian biodiversity away from parking lots and trailheads! | |
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| Canada’s Most Wanted | Species | Hey there! Would you be interested in contributing to conservation management; saving endangered native species, and calling out the bad guys (invasive species) at the same time? Over 2,200 species are currently threatened nationally or within individual provinces and territories. | |
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| Made in Canada! | Species | This project aims to document Canadian endemics–species that have most of their distributions within Canada | |
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| We are the 99% | Places | Over half of all observations are found in just 1% of Canada’s area. Let’s go to the other 99%! | |
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| Closing the Climate Gap | Ecology | To bridge this gap, we encourage you to visit some areas that represent unique Canadian climates that have yet to be surveyed thoroughly. | |
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| Too Hot to Handle | Ecology, Conservation | Canada’s climate is warming quickly, you can help track how species respond. | |
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| Getting Even | Ecology | Some areas have lots of observations of some groups of species and almost none of others – let’s even that out! | |
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| More than the Monarch | Species | Help us to blitz the gap of all butterfly and moths across Canada! | |
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| Find new Key Biodiversity Areas for conservation | Conservation | We need your help to identify priority areas for conservation! | |
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| Books, butterflies, and blooms | Education | Team up with your local public library to photograph plants, animals, fungi and more! Beginners welcome. Help us survey biodiversity across this vast and beautiful country. | |
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| Revisit the past | Places, Species | Some species haven’t been spotted in Canada since before the iPad, are they still here?! | |
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| Seaweeds of Canada | Species | Ahoy! Beachcombers, beachgoers, and beach bums rejoice! Have we got a challenge for you! All you need to do is take photos of the seaweeds you find and upload them to iNaturalist to learn all about their crazy forms, functions, and life history. | |
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